Guest Post: Author Jacqui Murray

Published on by J. Kelland Perry

I’m delighted to welcome fellow author Jacqui Murray to my blog today.

Balance of Nature is the third book in Jacqui’s Savage Land prehistoric fiction trilogy. I have read and enjoyed previous instalments of the author’s Man vs. Nature series, so it was no surprise that this one also quickly drew me in. Jacqui’s prose and research masterfully portrays the many struggles our earliest ancestors endured, while at the same time revealing the courage, tenacity, and shrewdness at the core of human existence since time immemorial.   

Summary: A tribe haunted by the past. Lies that threaten the future. A reason to find the truth. 

Savage Land is the third trilogy about prehistoric man in the series, Man. Vs. Nature. Savage Land explores how two bands of humans survived one of the worst natural disasters in Earth’s history, when volcanic eruptions darkened the sky, massive tsunamis crossed the ocean in crushing waves, and raging fires burned the land. Viral tribes of Neanderthals and early man considered themselves apex predators, but that crown belonged to Nature and she was intent on washing the two-legged blight from her lands.  

In Balance of Nature, Book Three of the trilogy, Yu’ung’s Neanderthal tribe hopes to settle at Gibraltar but instead find unexpected threats and lethal challenges.  
 
Follow the courageous Yu’ung, the determined Kazeb, the mystical Shanadar, and the pawed-and-clawed Canis as they navigate a perilous world of tribal conflict, unexplained visions, and shifting loyalties. Their journey is a testament to the resilience and strength of true leadership in a sweeping saga that ultimately leads to who we are today.   

Book information:   Print, digital, audio soon available:    http://a-fwd.com/asin=B0G45MFBWW    
Genre: Prehistoric fiction    
Editor: Anneli Purchase    

Jacqui is sharing with us today an article she has written about writer’s block. Take it away, Jacqui!

When asked, my answer to    writer’s block    always is, “I don’t get it”, but in writing this article, I paused to think about what that meant. Right now, I’m pretty burnt out over writing my current book. I don’t want to start the next in the series so I’m reading and researching. Is that what some consider “writer’s block”? To me, it’s necessary time to redirect. invigorate my mind.    

What is writer’s block?

So which is it? Is writer’s block a temporary mental fatigue from overwriting or the burn out people often suffer from overworking on their jobs? I decided to ask some experts:

In his book Writer’s Block, educational psychologist Mike Rose defines it as: “a breakdown in the writer’s ability to generate text due to rigid or inappropriate rules about writing.”

Keith Hjortshoj in Understanding Writing Blocks describes it as: “a temporary inability to produce new work, often accompanied by anxiety, frustration, or self-doubt.”

Jerry Seinfeld simply says:

“Writer’s block is a phony, made-up BS excuse for not doing your work.”

Seth Godin is equally dismissive:

“I write like I talk and I don’t get talker’s block.”

How to cure writer’s block?

Now that we know what the experts consider writer’s block to be, how do you cure it? Most solutions require you give up perfectionism and ditch a schedule, ultimately freeing your creativity. Here are a few concrete ideas:

1. Take a break from writing and do one of the other many tasks required of writers. Market your last book. Update older books. Mix it up on social media to find new friends (especially if your old ones are becoming less responsive). Research a new book. Travel to an area that inspires you. People watch. Most of the time one of these will inspire you.

2.  If you’re writing in a vacuum, seek out online or in-person groups. You don’t have to share your work, just talk writing with like-minded individuals.

3.  Forget deadlines. Give yourself permission to finish when you’re done, not on some deadline that probably no one cares about. If you have a boss who enforces that deadline, test his/her limits. Creativity rarely works well with rules, deadlines, and pedantic orders.

4.  If you feel like you’ve run out of ideas, ignore the adage “write what you know”. Who can do that? I guarantee I can’t write about my experiences living with Neanderthals. Read on a topic that interests you until you feel you know it.

Author bio: Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes 100+ books on tech into education, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics.        

Author Links & Social Media:    

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jacqui-Murray/e/B002E78CQQ

Blog: https://worddreams.wordpress.com

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/askatechteacher        

X: http://twitter.com/worddreams        

Website: https://jacquimurray.net

59 thoughts on “Guest Post: Author Jacqui Murray”

    1. Thank you, Robbie. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Creating art sounds lovely. Sometimes our interests change to another form of creative endeavour, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. 😊

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  4. Two more ideas:1) Focus on what lies heavily on your brain. When you solve your non-writing related problems/ worries (about work, family conflicts, money issues, etc) your brain will relax and you will be able to write.2) Research heavily what you are writing about. I cannot write, sometimes, because a certain issue is not clear in my mind – because first I have to see the scene in my mind, accurately, then describe what I am seeing. If I cannot see what dishes are on the table at the XVth century wedding feast, I wont describe it…

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  5. Thanks for hosting Jacqui, who has been an inspiration and a rich mine of resources for aspiring writers. It is an important subject to hear Jacqui’s views on, as all writers experience writer’s block. And

    My personal strategies:

    take a break

    “Just do it” – in other words, try to write something, it sometimes releases the obstruction

    surprisingly, even AI can help by throwing up new angles

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  8. I love the books of both authors here. Great reading in Jacqui’s and in Jennifer’s books.

    As for writer’s block, if I have a rough idea of what I want to write, I find that just getting a sentence or two written down helps me write the next one and then next one and the next one. I know I’m going to rewrite it all anyway, so it doesn’t matter if it’s not perfect the first time. It’s just important to get going on it.

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    1. Thank you so much, Anneli! I appreciate your kind words about our books.
      Your thoughts about writer’s block resonate with me. There is nothing worse than the blank page, and you can always go back and fix it up to your liking. Very few writers get it perfect in the first draft. Thanks for weighing in.

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  9. My only writer’s block is time. Gosh, if only we didn’t have to do anything else but read and write… wouldn’t it be wonderful?:) Great post, Jacqui!

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  10. Research has nothing to do with writer’s block, and is a necessary step, especially when writing historical fiction or, in your case, prehistorical fiction. Do I believe in writer’s block? I’m unsure. There are times when we get in the zone, and the words come more easily than others. My guess is that it is related to proper rest, exercise, and hydration.

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  11. Excellent advice from Jackie! For me, much of what some people call writer’s block falls into the prewriting phase of the writing process. Those activities count! And sometimes not writing just means that you need to let your writing fields lie fallow.

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  13. I am no writer, but I am an avid reader so this was interesting to me. I anxiously await a new book by a favorite author and never think that they might be struggling with what exactly to write about! I have seen Jacqui on fellow blogger Dan Antion’s site so it is like meeting an old friend seeing her here.

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    2. Hi Lois. Jacqui is an absolute godsend to many of us here on WordPress and in the writing community at large. As for writers block, I find personally it’s about life getting in the way most of all.
      Keep up the avid reading! 😊

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  14. Pingback: I’m Traveling to Jennifer Kelland |

  16. Thank you, for Jacqui’s refreshing the outside nutshell of creative writing. I particularly like your last comment: “Read on a topic that interests you until you feel you know it.” That’s when I feel like I’m ready to write. It is also when Nobody really wants to talk to me about it because I am so steeped in that world. Ha!

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Talk to me.